Sunday, November 2, 2008

So Un'Fashionable'...

Bhandarkar has done it again. Conned critics and audiences into thinking he has given them the real deal with a film titled (rather obviously!) 'Fashion'. It has its powerful moments and a few searing comments on that crazed world, but it is about as authentic a take on the subject as Rakhi Sawant's silicon implants or Ekta Kapoor's Mahabharata. Fully fake and somewhat faltu. But with Bollywood's present obsession with Gays, this film too spends far too much time on the gays in the catwalk biz than on propelling the story forward. Since this is meant to be an insider track on the subject, I expected something more insightful than a silly kiss-and-tell, in which the real kick lay in trying to guess the identities of the various characters. Is the blond Gay super bitch designer supposed to be Gudda? And is Harsh Chhaya's lisping Gay designer based on Tarun? Or Rocky? Or Vikram? In that case, who is the married Gay designer playing? Awww... it could be any one of the Delhi guys - those closeted queens with photogenic wives. But, if you are not in the know, does the film still work?? No, not at all. There are no less than 11 fashion shows strewn through the movie. Why not watch FTV instead? Better shows, better outfits and genuine style?? On the upside, the performances are first rate, though Kangana HAS BEEN SADLY SHORT CHANGED. HER CHARACTER WAS SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING THAN PRIYANKA'S. But one must hand it to Piggy Chops for accepting a role that demands one hell of a lot from the actor. And she has delivered big time, even if she is badly photographed and poorly styled to pass for a supersmodel.Mugdha was the surprise package - all toothy, leggy charm while delivering gritty performance , especially for a debutante. So...are all models coked out, chain smoking wine guzzling sluts who sleep around to get ahead.... and end up dead after od-ing on substance? Are their lives really this pitiable? Well, Bhandarkar sure thinks so.And maybe he has it almost right.But a movie that runs for three hours certainly needs more than a string of familiar incidents to keep the audience awake.madhur tried to ramp up his image - literally - but the effect was as gauche as his own tux at the Dubai premiere.Why did I punish myself by watching 'Golmal Returns'? Don't ask. That too after a posh Cartier event featuring the most astounding collection of vintage cars. Monica Bellucci did not show up because her minders warned her about bomb blasts in Mumbai. However, Imran Khan who is accustomed to worse back home, did. And frankly, I find him far cuter. So, who's complaining??

But what about Priyanka?I think she looks uber-stylish and uber-hot in that movie.

Well Quantum Of Solace is yet another baap bond movie; I have seen it already and found that the Ukranian actress Olga Kurylenko is the hottest stuff on planet! I literally mean it by saying that- she's hotter than Keira Knightley or Angelina Jolie... Period.

Well about Angie's Changeling- it is not out yet.Or is it? Not sure...

After watching fashion, One of my girl pals said "Gay Gay everywhere, not a place to stand and stare"… except for Raj Babbar, who plays priyanka’s pop everyone else was gay. Bang on… Yes yes I think the same, the gay SuperBitch seems to be Gudda, harsh chaaya ka seems to be playing Tarun. This movie is set in a more recent outlook, else someone like Kawaljeet and his ilk would’ve featured too. I found fashion to be a very haphazard collage.

The movie belonged to kangana. Priyanka was just an add-on. I have met Kangana a couple-of-times and offscreen I found her to be quite scatterbrainy and publicity crazy. But she is a phataka on screen, I loved her in her debut “Gangster” followed by “Woh Lamhe”. I can clearly see why anurag basu chose her over many hopefuls just over a cup of coffee at café coffee day, (which incidentally is the caption of CCD “a lot can happen over a coffee” realized). Mughda was nice too… The visual appeal of the movie was clearly missing. Those reality-bytes could’ve been very engaging with good cinematography. Right from the titling stage… if we saw the logo of Fashion… it looks outlandish, if we were to visualize the contents from the packaging after removing UTV and Madhur Bhandarkar and all his PRgiri… one would expect the movie to be like a “disco deewane”or “Disco dancer”

Conspicuous by its absence, no young boy was sexually abused and there were no absolute whores/ ”compromises”, just some fashion chicks who slutted around. Whatever happened to the Bhandarkar formula.

There was nothing in the treatment that I feel could not be done by some other director. I cant say that the movie was bad. But it wasn’t a good movie either. This is a good movie for some sudden fashion trivia. Fashion is a “guess who “quiz show… and I don’t feel one could empathize with the characters from the real world after seeing the movie.

Short & Sweet, I thought Fashion wasn't bad. The first half was quiet slow, but the second half picked up. I did notice the absence of "the casting couch" in the movie! It seemed to me like Bhandarkar made the first half in the hurry, after the second half was complete. Nahi? I can't complain, look at what's out there. Me thinks, Bhandarkar read the formula that *Aham had mentioned in one of the earlier blog comments and deleted the child-abuse aspect to prove a point! LOL!

Well, ek-ladki, there was a casting-couch situation for the hero when he was a struggling model... The 'Bharat-naran' refused sexual advances of the gay fashion-guru!

I watch Hindi movies very rarely but saw "Fashion" yesterday because as a gay man myself, I was curious about all the 'gay-way' hoopla surrounding this movie.

The movie is a good watch, Priyanka did a great job, her hero is awfully cute.... But 3hrs to tell a model's story? ... phleeeze! In USA, we don't get an intermission. I can sue Madhur for my bladder damage! :-)

There was no continuation for many scenes. Kangana's story line was not clear until towards the end. And Madhur did represent various gay-avatars found in Fashion world. But again, many of them stood out as add-ons, not contributing anything to the main story.

I haven't seen the movie.But read reviews and yours too. As we are always seeing brighter side of the industry, is this movie an eye-opener for aspiring models to understand nitty-gritties of the industry.Two days back I heard a RJ saying, one of her "model" friend said she won't watch the movie with her parents. Are we seeing the dark side of the industry in the movie? or be a reality to an extent??

Priyanka looked stale and old to be a model. With a man-like structure and a ponch as well if u noticed! There was no fashion, no glamour. It looked like a plot that could have been transferred to any other industry. Did not talk about the time span. It looked like everything happened within two years yet we had to wait for 3 hours for the end we knew very well, i.e. Priyanka in some foreign fashion show that she did not even manage to do when she was a top model. Kangana was fresh and great and looked pro. However it looked as if Madhur got this memory attacks where he realised that Kangana is in the film as well but Priyanka cut her short...This is Priyanka's best knowing that she is just a heroine who gets chased by heros and villians and will never know what it is to be an actor!

@Kishore: You're so right, that two-liner in the restaurant! It was so short and insignificant that I completely forgot. I expected atleast 5 minutes dedicated to that, and perhaps one of the story lines relating to it between the three models. Now as far as intermission break, instead of going to the AMC's go to a desi run cinema hall. They give you an intermission break and a chance to buy some samosas as well ;-)

Full marks to Madhur for rocking a largely, straight boat and without humoring gays, the way a KJO would have in a bout of his trademark(pretentious) film making craft.On a different note I wouldn't be too surprised to find "Dostana" littered with tacky jokes about gays from start to finish. Madhur, unlike most other film makers in Bollywood,treats his gay characters with empathy and tact - something which we need to see more of, for minorities of every stripe and denomination in this country.As an aside, the real showstoppers in "Fashion" to my mind, were: Kangana and Mugda period.

@Kishore: Laal Salaam Commarade! LOL! For clarification purposes, I hail from the LAND OF OBAMA, and have been in the USA for almost 25 years (since 1984) So I realize that Bollywood has mainstreamed into AMC's and Century Cinemas. My point, jokingly, was that you should go to a desi run Cinema Hall. I am not sure about Boston, but here in Chicago, and other places like California and DC Metro areas - they have opened Cinemas that show solely desi movies (including Malyali) such as Fun Asia, Naaz Cinema, Loehman's etc. In such halls, you get to relieve the bladder(s) during intermissions and then go eat samosa w/ a cup of chai or even Limca! Total desi ambience including the roudy crowds!

Well... I'll have to agree to disagree. I think Madhur B. portrayed the world of "Fashion" in a very realistic manner and the smoking, binging and drugs is a big part of that lifestyle. He introduced the lives of 3 different models as 3 different people under the same industry. And the 3 characters had the same goals but different ways of handling success and failure. Kangana Ranaut played her role fabulously, Priyanka was very good considering she's so successful and lucky in life and Mugdha did her bit well too. About the gay characters, once again it was done in a realistic way. I don't know all the ins and outs of a gay designer's life but it can't be much different than a "normal" gay man who probably would have a marriage of convenience in order to be accepted and treated the same in society and family. Watching Dostana straight after Fashion was like being in a gay/lesbian club. Even if this is la mode in Bollywood, for many gays and lesbians it's the light at the end of a tunnel.

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